The vicious new tax collector Ruthless Rufus is in town, intent on revenge as his father was executed by the Sheriff. When he kidnaps Allan and Kate, Robin retaliates by snatching his son. Robin and the gang then face a race against time as they try to find Rufus' hiding place. Pitching in all their resources and skills, the gang plans to trade Edmund, Rufus' son, for Allan and Kate.
Tropes
- Abusive Parents: Rufus wants to rid his son Edmund of all perceived "weakness", and so forces the boy to beat up helpless villagers, all in the name of making him stronger. Edmund clearly hates every second of it.
- Alliterative Name: Rufus is known as "Ruthless Rufus".
- Always Save the Girl: On hearing that Kate has been taken captive, Robin and Much ditch the burning kiln and the distressed Locksley villagers in order to rush off and save her.
- Ambiguous Situation: Kate’s outlaw status at the end of this episode is incredibly unclear, and a source of much consternation in fandom. Early on, Rufus threatens to inform the Sheriff that she’s been consorting with outlaws, which is apparently enough to force Kate out of her home and into Sherwood Forest. This is treated as a temporary solution, with Allan saying she’ll get “a bed for the night” and Robin coming up with a plan to get rid of Rufus specifically so that Kate can return to Locksley.
- Furthermore, not only do we never see Rufus pass on this information to the Sheriff, but by the end of the episode he’s dead (and given his own escalating problems, it’s hard to believe that Vaizey would even care about whether or not a village girl briefly interacted with Robin).
- Yet in the final scene, Kate is formally “invited” to join the outlaws, which only causes further confusion. Are the men genuinely offering her a choice in whether she stays with them or returns to Locksley, or just playfully pretending to give her an option when in truth she has none? One has to assume it's the latter since Kate has nothing to offer the outlaws and has spent the episode vocally wanting to go home, but further muddying the waters is that seven episodes later, she floats the possibility that she leave Robin and return to her family (and in fact, does so) as though this is an option that has been available to her the whole time. It’s all deeply unclear.
- Anachronism Stew: Even by the standards of this show, Kate and Rebecca's pots still stick out like a sore thumb for being so obviously mass-produced.
- Attempted Rape: Though it doesn't go beyond Rufus forcing Kate up against a wall and stroking her hair, it's obvious that this is what he's got in mind after he takes her to Locksley Manor.
- Bee-Bee Gun: The outlaws release a swarm of bees on the castle guards, forcing them away from the wagon of food they're attempting to steal.
- Character Shilling: Kate trips up Edmund, and John and Tuck react as though it's the most incredible thing they've ever seen.
- Chastity Dagger: Kate has one of these secreted on her person, and whips it out when Rufus advances on her in Locksley Manor.
- Complaining About Rescues They Don't Like: Kate isn’t happy when Robin and Much come to her rescue while she’s being held captive by Rufus, insisting that she had the situation under control.
- Damsel in Distress: Kate, twice. First she draws the attention of Rufus and is forced to go with him to save her mother, and later is captured by him for a second time (along with Allan) and held hostage in the old butcher's house.
- Enemy Mine: Averted. Rufus’s real target is the Sheriff of Nottingham, but Robin doesn’t realize until it’s too late. Even then, neither one has any interest in working together, especially once the hostages are taken.
- Faux Action Girl: Kate pulls a knife on Rufus, but isn't given the chance to use it before Robin and Much come to her rescue.
- How About a Smile?: Rufus demands this of Kate once he's ordered her to dance for him.
- I Have Your Wife: Turns out that Scrope is being forced to work with Rufus on account of his (never seen) wife being held hostage.
- The Igor: What with his scuttling gait, sycophantic toadying, and hunched-over posture, Scrope seems to be deliberately channeling this Stock Character.
- Insane Troll Logic: Rebecca blames Robin not only for getting Kate outlawed, but also for the death of her son Matthew. The unreasonableness of these accusations can be partially chalked down to grief, but the idea that Robin is responsible for what happened to either one of her children is ludicrous by any standards.
- Involuntary Dance: Though it’s not magically-imposed, as this trope usually implies, Rufus uses threat of force to coerce Kate into dancing for his amusement.
- Living Lie Detector: Tuck can tell that Edmund is lying by checking the speed of his pulse.
- Never My Fault: Rufus seeks revenge on the Sheriff for the death of his father. The reason his father was executed was because he took the heat for Rufus, who stole money from a wedding couple. Even after he's been outed as having actually committed the crime, Rufus continues to insist it was solely the Sheriff's fault.
- Prisoner Exchange: Robin offers to exchange his captive (Edmund) for Rufus's (Kate and Allan).
- Remember the New Guy?: Vaizey's accountant Scrope seems to be someone that's been working in the castle for a while, though this is the first we've ever seen of him.
- Rescue Romance: After being saved by him three times across this episode, Kate starts to cast some heart-eyes at Robin.
- Series Continuity Error: The plot hinges on the fact that the Sheriff hanged Rufus' father around seventeen years ago, which was in fact his very first execution... except Will You Tolerate This? established that the Sheriff had been in power for fewer than five years at that point.
- Sexual Extortion: Though it's not made totally explicit, there's still no mistaking what Rufus is attempting with Kate, telling her: "you come with me to Locksley Manor, you make me smile, and I'll let your mother go."
- Ship Tease: There's some mild flirting between Allan and Kate, enough so that Much gets a little disheartened.
- Spotlight-Stealing Squad: An odd example as it pertains to the One Shot Characters. Most guest stars supplement the arcs of the cast regulars, but in this episode Edmund and Rufus are practically the leads, with a disproportionate amount of screen-time devoted to their backstory, strained father/son relationship, and individual character arcs. None of it is thematically connected to anything the main characters are going through, and since they’re never seen again it has no bearing on the overarching storyline of this season.
- Stuff Blowing Up: Rufus knocks a wooden piling into the potter's kiln and it immediately (and inexplicably) explodes.
- Suspiciously Similar Substitute: A new violent, dark-haired, leather-clad tax collector is in town, and it's not Guy of Gisborne — in fact, Rufus is even worse.
- Take Me Instead: Rebecca's exact words as Rufus drags Kate away for Implied Rape at Locksley Manor.
- Taking the Heat: Rufus's father died because he took responsibility for the dowry that was stolen during a wedding in Locksley years before, but it turns out that Rufus was the real culprit.
- The Voiceless: For the second episode in a row, Kate's little sister Maggie is completely silent.
- Unwanted Rescue: Kate isn't happy that Robin and Much come to her rescue at Locksley Manor."What are you doing here? I was doing fine on my own!"
- We Hardly Knew Ye: Rufus is given a fair amount of background and psychological depth, but is killed off before the credits roll.
- Worthy Opponent: Rufus regards Robin as this, especially given his amusement at watching the wagon heist take place at the beginning of the episode.
